Article 50 of the 2013 Law on Employment stipulates that the monthly unemployment benefit is equal to 60% of the average monthly salary for unemployment insurance contributions of the 6 consecutive months before unemployment, but not exceeding 5 times the basic salary for employees subject to the salary regime prescribed by the State.
Civil servants subject to the salary regime prescribed by the State. Therefore, the maximum unemployment benefit for civil servants from now until the end of 2025 is according to the following formula: Maximum unemployment benefit = 5 x basic salary.
With a basic salary of VND 2,340,000/month according to Decree 73/2024/ND-CP, the maximum unemployment benefit for civil servants is VND 11,700,000.
Article 39 of the 2025 Law on Employment (effective from January 1, 2026) stipulates that the monthly unemployment benefit is equal to 60% of the average monthly salary for unemployment insurance contributions of the 6 most recent months of unemployment insurance contributions before termination of labor contracts, employment contracts or termination of employment, but not exceeding 5 times the minimum monthly salary by region announced by the Government, applied in the last month of unemployment insurance contributions.
Thus, the new law no longer divides between public and private sector workers in the way of calculating the maximum unemployment benefit level. Therefore, the maximum unemployment benefit for civil servants from 2026 is according to the following formula:
Maximum unemployment benefit = 5 x regional minimum wage.
Currently, the Ministry of Home Affairs is drafting a Decree regulating the minimum wage for employees working under labor contracts, expected to take effect from January 1, 2026.
In the draft Decree, the minimum wage in region I increased from 4.96 million VND/month to 5.31 million VND/month; region II increased from 4.41 million VND/month to 4.73 million VND/month; region III increased from 3.86 million VND/month to 4.14 million VND/month; region IV increased from 3.45 million VND/month to 3.7 million VND/month.
Thus, if the Government officially issues a Decree on regional minimum wages in 2026 according to the above proposal, the lowest maximum unemployment benefit for civil servants in 2026 is VND 18,500,000 (zone IV) and the highest is VND 26,550,000 (zone I).
